Companies spar to be 'MB'

A pair of local companies with the letters "M" and "B" in their names are fighting over the rights to the initials.

MB Financial Bank N.A. last week sued the real estate services firm formerly affiliated with Chicago developer Paul Beitler, asking a federal judge to order the company to change its name and logo.

MB Real Estate Services LLC, as the real estate firm now is called, changed its name from MB Beitler earlier this year to reflect the fact that Mr. Beitler is no longer involved with the firm.

MB Financial, a Chicago-based bank, began using an "MB" logo in 1997 and trademarked the name MB Financial in 2001, according to the lawsuit.

A spokesman for MB Financial says the bank wants the real estate firm to "cease using the name and come up with a distinct and patently different name." A spokesman for MB Real Estate called the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, "without merit."